Over time, diabetes definitely turns into some fatal complications. High level of blood sugar targets the organs and micro structures in the body. Here are some of the common complications…
Blindness
Patients with diabetes must get their eyes checked half yearly or yearly. Long lasting high blood sugar can damage the blood vessels that supplies to the retina of the eye. The early stage of diabetic eye disease is known as non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) in which the blood vessel leak and cause swelling in retina and blurred vision. This condition is known as diabetic macular edema.
In advanced stage, when the abnormal new blood vessels start growing on the surface of the retina it is labeled as proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). These abnormal blood vessels obstruct the normal blood supply to the retina. In addition, they may gradually pull on the retina and cause it to detach.
Diabetic retinopathy is generally treated with laser surgery in which a strong beam of laser is aimed onto the retina to shrink or to seal leaking. The laser surgery don’t restore the vision that is already gone so earliest detection is very much important. In advanced stage of PDR, the vitreous portion is removed and replaced it with lucid solution called as vitrectomy.
Renal failure
If the high blood sugar persists for long time, it can damage the kidney. This is the disease, which is not controlled even by drugs and diet. This is termed as diabetic nephropathy and kidney failure.
The kidneys are the filters that clean off the blood from the waste products and extra fluid. When the kidneys don’t perform their work properly, they give up filtering the blood and waste products start accumulating in the blood.
There are toxins like creatinine and urea are secreted from the kidneys indicating that the kidney function is not properly.
Heart and blood vessel diseases
The survey says that ninety percent of the diabetic-related deaths are occurred due to cardiovascular disease. Compared to the people who are non-diabetic, diabetic patients are twice or thrice more likely to have heart disease. A person with diabetes also tends to have other risk factors for the diseases of heart. This includes obesity, hardening of the arteries – atherosclerosis and high blood pressure.
There are certain drugs available in the market that alters the lipid levels and targets the abnormalities of triglycerides and cholesterols.
Foot ulcers
Due to the numbness caused by diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage), diabetic people are at risk for foot injuries. This is also because there is low blood supply or flow to the legs and feet. Even a small injury or wound may turn into big ulcer. As the healing time is prolonged in diabetic people, the microorganisms settle down to the localized area and get enough time to grow within it. This results into the infection and finally big ulcer known as diabetic foot.
The conditions are treated with higher antibiotics and with careful dressings. If the situation turns from bad to worse, the limb or the organ is cut known as amputation.
There is another technique in which the skin substitutes are placed that can help in closing the wounds or healing the ulcers in diabetic patients. These substitutes are derived from human cells known as fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are kept on a dissolvable mesh material and this material is placed on the ulcer. Human cells start growing and replace the damaged tissues in the ulcer once the material is getting absorbed.
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